Vancouver-Nanaimo Fast Ferry “Hullo” launches
The much-needed new Hullo passenger-only fast ferry service from downtown Nanaimo to downtown Vancouver began service on August 14, 2023 with an initial schedule of three daily sailings, which is expected to expand to six in September. Customers will board at the...
Should we expand the West Coast Express?
Is there a future for the West Coast Express as travel patterns change, and if so, what does it look like? Consider the following: The COVID-19 pandemic has led to a "new normal" of hybrid working, where office-based employees work at home part of the time. Which,...
Make BC Ferries Walk-On Foot-Passenger Friendly
It is very nice for BC Ferries to provide free passage for resident seniors as foot passengers between Mondays and Thursdays, it would be nicer if the organization made it easier for seniors, and others, to walk on as foot passengers. Such a move could help alleviate...
Amtrak Cascades: Time for a Blaine Station?
Ever since Amtrak restarted its Seattle-Vancouver train service there have been hopes of having it stop at either White Rock, BC or Blaine, WA; which the old international trains did before they ended when Amtrak was created in 1971. This is an opportunity, and it is...
Enhancing Amtrak Cascades
Transport Action Canada and Transport Action B.C. were recently invited to participate in consultation meetings and comment on the new Amtrak Cascades Service Development Plan (SDP) by the Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT), which has been driving...
Work underway on Vancouver’s Broadway subway extension
Visitors to Vancouver taking the Canada Line downtown, stopping at Broadway City Hall station will see the construction that marks the recent start of Canada’s newest public transit expansion (complete with its own website): a $2.83 Billion extension of the city’s...
Reconnecting the West Coast, Plains and Prairies
On April 21, 2022, representatives of Transport Action Canada, including current Transport Action BC president Alex Mandel, met with fellow passenger rail advocates from across the border, All Aboard Northwest, the Rail Passengers Association, and the Big Sky...
TABC seeks equal consideration for transit riders as drivers get handouts from the Province
Around the world, from Germany to New Zealand, governments have been tackling the cost of living crisis in the aftermath of the pandemic and spiking gasoline prices due to the the invasion of Ukraine by cutting bus and train fares, directly reducing the cost of...
Integrated Transit Service for BC Sunshine Coast Communities
New partnership between BC Transit, Coast Connector Bus Company, and BC Ferries aims to bring integrated public transit service to remote Sunshine Coast communities with coordinated schedules and fares, which could become a model for more collaboration between...
Intercity Passenger Transportation in B.C. (Letter to NDP Environment Minister Heyman)
The following letter was sent to B.C.’s Minister of Environment and Climate Change Strategy in 2019. It was sent as a personal communication but the points, I believe, are supportable by TABC. The Minister’s Constituency Office reply follows the letter. Since this...
BC Government looks to next phase of SkyTrain link from Vancouver to North Shore
September 9, 2020 saw the release of the long awaited Stage 2 of the Burrard Inlet Rapid Transit Study. The project, started in 2018 and funded by the BC Ministry of Transportation, looks to address a subject of long standing interest among Lower Mainland transit...
COVID19 Affects Transit Financing – Service Cutbacks
Drastic ridership and financial losses - for TransLink farebox, gas tax and parking tax revenue - are leading to significant public transit service reductions. TransLink has announced major service cuts, including route eliminations, starting April 24 with much larger...
COVID 19 Impacts BC’s Public Transportation
The following was gathered from various web sites on April 3. Given the fluidity of the current situation, further changes may happen quickly and with little notice.BC Bus North (https://bcbus.ca/): The company has introduced additional cleaning protocols but its web...
Portland-Seattle-Vancouver High Speed Rail “Makes Economic Sense”
Transport Action BC agrees that high speed rail (HSR) linking Vancouver, Seattle and Portland is a great idea, but there are a lot of questions and complexities surrounding this proposal yet to be answered.
Canada Line and Snow (Feb. 2017)
TransLink’s Canada Line experienced two major shutdowns (Feb 3 / 6, 2017). The cause was the apparent inability of trains to travel northbound between Bridgeport and Marine Drive Stations. These incidents are a reminder of a similar incident in November 2010 when an...